Their escape plan worked like a charm and Kacchan was now on his was to the Elven Kingdom while Deku and Uraraka sneaked out unnoticed. Kirishima was left in charge of the castle, although Mitsuki took ruling the country on her shoulders again for the time being.
"You know, you've got a real good friend in him" Ochako whispered into the dead of the night as they trailed through the forest. Izuku nodded a little, smiling at the thought of the Dragon King alone.

"You really love him, don't you?" she asked with a small sigh, making the green head blush.
"He was my very first friend... Of course I love him"
"So... Is there something more behind it or did I just imagine the dreamy look in your eyes whenever he was around?"
"Uraraka-san!" Izuku exclaimed with a bright red face, not that it was very visible in the dark of the night.

She laughed, pushing him a little.
"Deku-kun! You're so in love with him!"
"D-Deku-kun?" he sputtered out. Only Kacchan calls him Deku...
"Yeah! It's what the Dragon King called you, right?"
"It means Useless in the classic language of old Dragonia" Izuku muttered, remembering how the blonde used to tease him about his clumsiness.

"Every royal is taught about the ancient languages of the six lands so..."
"Oh... Well, in Fae it sounds a lot like the word for 'You can do it' so I thought of it as a compliment!" Uraraka smiled, making Izuku smile as well.
"You know what? I like that translation better" the young runaway prince chuckled.
"Makes me feel...a little more confident in my cause"

"Pfft, I'm sure you'll win this war or whatever thingy you're brewing up right now" Ochako said, waving it off as child's play.
"Let's just enjoy our last day together! Tomorrow I'll be off to the academy so we won't see each other again for a long time, probably"
"That's very likely, yes" Izuku sighed, looking up at the sky.
"Actually, we're already near the academy right now-"

"What? Really?!" Uraraka squealed, jumping up and down. The green head laughed at her enthusiasm, getting hyped up himself too.
"It's a bit of a detour from my route but I'll be happy to bring you!" the prince quickly added.
"Huh? Oh no, Deku-kun you really don't have to go through all the trouble! Your mission is way more important than mine!" Ochako exclaimed with a sad smile.

"S-so... So I-I guess this already means g-goodbye, isn't it?"
"If you say it like that-" Izuku muttered, rubbing the back of his neck before the girl basically attacked him, hugging him to death.
"I'll miss you!"
"I-I'll miss you too, Uraraka-san"

After saying their goodbyes, Izuku made sure she got to the main road and told her how to reach her destination. The sun was already rising when they finally parted ways, making him realise just how exhausted he was. Maybe he could rest up a little? But what about the knights chasing him? Well, they weren't onto him right now, were they?

Deku yawned, strolling back into the cover of the trees, searching for a place to rest for a while. A little further he found a small cave, smiling to himself. He could cover up the entrance quite easily so no one would find him here. So he started gathering up wood and branches, covering up the entrance and setting up a fire. The green head sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

Another day or two and he'd reach the capital of the empire. Huh, Todoroki Shoto would be waiting there for him... Izuku knew he's not really courting Kacchan but still... He couldn't help but be wary of the dual magic user.

Suddenly a noise outside shook him out of thought, making him stand up, instantly on high alert. The noise came again, like a rustling, and then a voice. A yelp, a small cry for...for what exactly? Izuku grabbed his weapon, sneaking back outside, only to see a small girl crying outside. She had long waving greyish hair and pure red eyes, reminding him a lot of Katsuki's. Izuku frowned, not letting his guard down as he approached her.

"Hey little one... What brings you all the way out here?" he asked on a soft tone, making them lock eyes. She sniffled, wiping away her tears. Her eyes soon fell upon the dragon stone around Izuku's neck. He grabbed it, thinking about how he didn't give it to Kacchan like he'd planned. It simply didn't came up, he never had the chance to gift it to the Dragon King. She slowly reached out for it, making Izuku stand more on guard.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" the green head asked, now seeing the small horn poking out of her head. This girl wasn't human, nor Fae. Maybe an animal hybrid?
"What's your name?" Izuku tried as all she did was reach out to the stone.
"D-dra-onn..." she stuttered, placing her hand on top of the green head's, prying it off the dragon stone.

"Dragon? Oh, you mean my dragon stone? It's pretty, isn't it?" Izuku chuckled, removing the necklace from his person and holding it in his hand so the girl could look.
"Dra-drag-on..." she spoke again, now pointing to Izuku, who smiled and shook his head.
"Oh no, no, I'm not a dragon!"

The girl frowned, taking a few steps back. She was certain she felt familiar energy radiating off this boy. A feeling of belonging, of home... It was the same kind of magic she sensed earlier, a few days ago, when she had just hatched. But this boy seemed friendly, not wanting to hurt her.

The pervious people she'd been with all wanted to use her, yet not him. He's special... He smells safe. The small girl hugged Izuku, making the latter stumble back a bit in surprise. None the less he instantly hugged back, making sure this wasn't a trap and no one was watching them in the mean time.

"Are you lost?" the young prince asked while pulling back. The girl simply nodded, taking his hand and pressing herself up to his body. It was an instinct the scent with the boy, he would protect her. Izuku just hugged her again, letting out a small sigh.
"Do you know where your mommy and daddy are? Or how you came here?"

She shook her head, burying her nose in his neck. He smelled weird, strange, unlike anything she'd ever smelled before. Not like a dragon, but also not like a threat. The dragon girl kinda liked it.
"Hmph... Well, I'll help you find them, alright? My name is Izuku by the way. Can you tell me yours?"
"Eri" she managed to get out. It's the last thing she remembered from home.

You see, dragons have excellent memory and a hatchling can hear anything from inside their egg from a certain age. She'd heard people discussing names before, Eri being the only one that stuck.
"Eri... I like it" Izuku smiled, standing up with her in his arms.
"Come on, let's go inside so you can tell me everything you can remember about how you got here"

At the Elven palace

Katsuki groaned as he saw the fancy silver-marble come into sight. It's not like he hated elves, but he didn't really like them either. Always yammering about progress and technology while his kingdom was more about tradition. Stupid traditions, really, but tradition none the less. He already saw a knight standing upon the stairs waiting for him. One of the Iida's, if he remembered them correctly.

The door of his carriage was opened and he walked out with a scowl. Bakugou was so not looking forward to this...
"Dragon King Katsuki, the Elven Kingdom welcomes you" the knight greeted him, bowing down at his feet to acknowledge his power.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Tch, none of your damn business, Iida" Katsuki scowled, crossing his arms.
"Where the hell are the Hatsume's at? I'm not planning on staying longer than I have to"
"As you wish, Dragon King" the knight answered, standing back up and guiding the blonde ruler through the decorated high halls. Up until they got interrupted by another knight, another Iida.

"Brother, I am sorry to interrupt you, but princess Hatsume has requested me to send king Bakugou to her first" he stated. The older one looked sceptical, glanced back at the angry blonde.
"What? Mei wants to see me? Let's fucking go already!" Katsuki snapped, getting sick and tired of just standing here. The younger one nodded, guiding the king to the princess' lab.

Bakugou remembered her well. She'd been practically engaged with Deku at some point. Always busy with tech, always tinkering. It wasn't any different now... The pink haired girl was working on some kind of giant robot thingy, disappearing partially within the machine. Katsuki rolled his eyes, dragging a hand down over his face before waving off the guard, signing him to let them be. Iida nodded, stepping outside the door and standing guard there.

"Oi! I'm here ya damn elf!" the blonde called out, making the pink head, pop up from inside the mechanics, a wide smile on her face.
"Prince Katsuki!" she exclaimed happily, jumping down and putting her goggles on top of her head.
"It's king now and you damn well know it" the explosive young man hissed while glaring at her.
"Now why the hell did you want me here?"

"Well, when I heard you were coming over I was a bit surprised" she started, instantly studying the red fur cloak Kacchan was wearing. It wasn't something that was usually seen in the Elven Kingdom.
"But then I started thinking and it actually made a lot of sense! Prince Izuku went to see you, didn't he?"

Katsuki shouldn't be surprised she figured it out so quickly. Why else would he come here? It was known he didn't like visiting other royal houses. The blonde smirked as he swatted her hands away from his clothes.
"Well yeah, someone has gotta convince your stupid old folks to side with Deku in the upcoming war"
"Hmm, still using that vulgar language I see" Mei laughed, putting her goggles back on.

"Still not keeping a good eye on your security as I suggested last time, I see" the blonde countered, opening the door only for Tenya to fall in, quite literally.
"Not very nice of you to eavesdrop, is it sir Iida? Certainly not when it regards two royals"
"M-my deepest apologies my p-princess! Please punish me as you see fit!" he exclaimed, bowing down to the ground.

"Kinky" Bakugou chuckled, flicking a finger at his head before walking over to Hatsume.
"What interest do you have in our conversation anyway? Scared I'm gonna steal your princess away?"
"King Bakugou! I'm going to request you to stop harassing my personal guard!" Mei demanded, making the young king laugh.
"Ah, I see... Things go both ways huh? Good for you! Now, Iida, stand the fuck up and tell me why the hell you were eavesdropping!"

The dark haired man got to his feet, avoiding the angry gaze of the young king.
"Please forgive me... But I heard you were talking about Izuku, the person I guided to the border on your orders, princess Mei. The very same person those knights from Midoriya were looking for-"
"You were the one that send those knights up my ass?!" Katsuki roared, glaring angrily at Hatsume.

"I also send my personal guard with him to make sure Izuku reached your kingdom safely!" she hissed, now also glaring at the blonde.
"The Elven Kingdom can't risk a war with the Dark Lands over this!"
"They almost caught him" Katsuki gritted, clenching his fists. Mei's eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. No... No!

"You're lucky I've got fucking dragons... Got him out on time, he's on his way to the Todoroki Empire as we speak"
"Oh thank the Gods!" Hatsume exclaimed, almost hugging the blonde.
"Yeah, thank the fucking Gods. Now get me to your damn parents so I can settle things for this war"

"W-war?!"

Right, that Iida is still in the room...
"Princess, please tell me... Who is sir Toshinori really? Why is he wanted by the Midoriya Kingdom?"
"His real name is prince Izuku Midoriya of the Midoriya Kingdom" Mei sighed, folding her arms behind her back as the knight stared at het with wide eyes.

"We used to be part of an arranged marriage, believe it or not. But he ran away from home and now he's plotting to dethrone his father and seize the crown"
"Tch, you're not engaged to Deku anymore so don't get any funny ideas, elf" Bakugou muttered, crossing his arms.
"Oh what? Don't think I forgot about your feelings for prince Izuku~" Hatsume teased, making the king explode.

"I don't have feelings for the damn nerd! Now shut the hell up about it!" the blonde exclaimed, his face a bright red in embarrassment.
"I-I escorted a-a prince? Sir Toshinori is...is a prince?" Iida gasped. Gee, that took some time to proces... Katsuki groaned, dragging a hand down his face while glaring at nothing in particular.
"Listen up pinky. I am here to talk to your parents about the alliance, kay? Once I've threatened to kill them off if they don't follow Deku, I'm outta here"

"Good luck with that! And thanks for the update on Izuku" she smiled.
"Sir Iida, please guide the Dragon King to the war room. My parents are waiting"
"A-as you wish, my princess" he stuttered, nodding and instantly turning around, waiting for the blonde to follow him. Ugh... This was going to be a long day....

In the mean time in Sanctum

Kirishima shot up from his daze, blinking heavily. Ashido gave him a worried glance, still in her dragon from. The red head groaned, holding his head. Something was off... Something was... No, not wrong. Different. He squinted his eyes. No... How? That shouldn't be possible...
"Everything okay man?" Tetsutetsu asked, who was also in human form.

The metallic dragon sat down next to his alpha, giving him a concerned look. They all knew how much stress the red head was under since it happened. Since their egg got stolen...
"I must've counted wrong... It just doesn't add up..." Kiri muttered, gripping his hair. How could he count this wrong..? He'd never had it wrong before! It barely changed since he became alpha, he was always updated. So why..?

"Dude, you're gonna have to be more specific" Tetsu stated, pulling Kirishima out of thought.
"There is one too many" the red head whispered, looking into his friend's eyes.
"This has never happened before..."
"Ei, please, talk to me. Use clear words" Tetsutetsu said, grabbing his shoulders, making them see eye to eye.

"I-I can feel the life force of all dragons within our pack. Everyone here is scented by me, they all carry my mark. B-but somehow... Somehow one just got added a-and I have absolutely no explanation"
There was silence for a while before Kirishima stood up from his spot, taking a deep breath. He let the energy flows pass through him, linking each specific one with a name belonging to one of his subjects.

Yet one was unfamiliar...

One was-

"No" he breathed, his eyes widening. He turned around in shock, facing his people with big eyes.
"I-I found her" Eijirou gasped, a small laugh escaping his lips.
"I-I don't know h-how but I found her! Somehow s-she must've gotten my scent o-on her... I... I found her!"
"Wait what? Who-?" Tetsutetsu wanted to ask but Kirishima already interrupted.

"Our egg! O-our egg... Our...our girl... S-she... She's alive! And I found her! I-I know where she is!"
The red head was practically glowing in happiness. Tetsu stared at him with big eyes, also shooting up from his spot on the ground.
"That's amazing! Where is she?"

"I-I need a map... We need to pin point her location and send people there right away" Kirishima muttered, already running towards the exit.
"We're not allowed to leave until Katsuki returns!" the metallic dragon shouted after him.
"I don't care! Besides, he'll understand!" Kirishima grinned, slamming the gate shut behind him. Just hang in there baby girl, your alpha is going to save you.

Meanwhile at the Shigaraki funeral home

"Hitoshi?" Dabi gasped as he came downstairs, a smile instantly covering his face.
"Dabi! It's been so long!" Shinsou smiled, hugging the scarred man. Shiggy scowled, looking away instantly.
"Well if you wanna save your boyfriend we better get going" handjob muttered, scratting his neck. Why was Toya downstairs? He just couldn't stand to look at him right now!

"What are you guys fighting about now?" the insomniac asked, crossing his arms.
"Oh! I know!" Toga giggled.
"You see, Dabi is actually-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Dabi covered her mouth, giving Shinsou and Jirou a nervous smile.

"I'm actually a wealthy runaway and not an orphan like I claimed when settling here... Shiggy is having a hard time with the fact I lied about my past"
"Huh... Well, why did you?" Jirou asked, crossing her arms.
"Who is this?" Dabi frowned, now noticing Hitoshi wasn't alone.
"I'm his girlfriend" Jirou hissed, glaring at him.

"And the only reason we're here is to save our boyfriend, got it? So let's get going already"
With that Jirou stomped out the room and Shinsou sighed.
"I'm so sorry, she normally isn't like this... Kyoka! Wait up!" the indigo haired boy yelled before going after her. Dabi rolled his eyes. Young love... Can be so beautifully destructive~

Before Dabi knew it, he was pressed against the wall by Tomura. An angry Tomura at that.
"What the hell are you doing downstairs?! I told you to stay with the damn dragon!"
"Relax, she's fine" Dabi lied, carefully pushing the necromancer off him.
"Come on man, don't be mad at me please? Can't we just...move on?"

The fire mage carefully took Shigaraki's hands, making sure to leave out the pinky so he wouldn't be reduced to ash.
"Please~? We were so great before! I-I... I'm so sorry, for not telling you, for what my father did to you... I wish I could turn back time, but I can't, okay? Please Shiggy? For me?"

Toya was pouting at this point, trying his absolute best to convince his friend to forgive him. Tch, friend... Dabi was not-so-secretly in love with the necromancer, something Himiko caught onto quickly. Yet Tomura remained clueless.
"Ugh, fine! Don't give me those damn puppy eyes, understand! You know they're my biggest weakness!"

With that the group of five left the graveyard, moving on to the cave where demon Kurogiri lived. Shinsou was nervous, to say the least. The last time he went to visit the demon, he almost got possessed as Kurogiri tried to take over his body for his own selfish needs. Never trust a demon. Surely not when practicing dark magic...

Because, as the demon told him before, Hitoshi was the perfect vessel for him to walk the earth with. If he possessed the indigo eyed boy, he would no longer be stuck in that cave. No longer restrained, free to rain chaos across the lands. They couldn't let that happen. Shinsou sighed, glancing aside at Jirou.

Hopefully he would be able to stay in control, otherwise she was the first to be slaughtered...